Last 3 French Detainees at Gitmo Let Go

[Roland99]

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050307/ap_on_re_eu/france_guantanamo&e=1&ncid=

PARIS - The last three French detainees held at the U.S. military base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, returned to France on Monday and were detained by authorities, judicial officials said.

The three men, Mustaq Ali Patel, Ridouane Khalid and Khaled Ben Mustafa, were being held by the French counterterrorism agency known as the DST, the officials said on condition of anonymity.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Herve Ladsous said the three men had been expected in the evening, but did not elaborate. Defense lawyer William Bourdon said they were landing at Villacoublay military airport, south of Paris, but he could not confirm their arrival.

The three men were among seven French citizens captured in the U.S.-led campaign that toppled Afghanistan (news - web sites)'s hard-line Taliban regime in late 2001. They spent more than two years at Guantanamo.

[cvoogt]

1. Or: "Freedom Detainees"

/nt.

[Roland99]

2. Whatever it takes to keep freedom marching, I suppose.

[struggle4progress]

3. French Ex-Guantanamo Inmates Probed for Terror Link (Reuters)

Tue Mar 8, 2005 05:12 AM ET

PARIS (Reuters) - Three French citizens released by U.S. authorities at Guantanamo Bay were held for questioning over terror links when they arrived back in France, the Justice Ministry said on Tuesday.
The three, identified by a government source as Ridouane Khalid, Khaled ben Mustapha and Moustak Ali Patel, arrived back in France on Monday. They were the last French citizens to be released from the U.S. naval base in Cuba.

"They were held for questioning on their arrival" in France, the ministry said in a statement, adding that they were being investigated for "criminal association with a terrorist enterprise."

The three Frenchmen were captured in 2001 or early 2002 after U.S.-led forces invaded Afghanistan to oust the Taliban government and its al Qaeda allies. They were taken to the U.S. military camp at Guantanamo as suspected Islamist militants. <snip>

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=7836516

[EricL]

4. One has been freed

PARIS, March 9 (AFP) - One of the three French citizens handed over to France this week by the United States after being held at its Guantanamo naval base in Cuba was freed Wednesday by French authorities, his lawyer said.

Mustaq Ali Patel was released after being held by French authorities for 48 hours and was met by his family, his lawyer William Bourdon said.

The last three French 'war on terror' detainees at Guantanamo Bay were returned home on Tuesday, and taken into custody as part of an investigation into criminal association linked to terrorist activities.

They were to face questioning about their activities before their arrest at the time of the American intervention in Afghanistan
at the end of 2001.

http://www.expatica.com/source/site_article.asp?subchannel_id=58&story_id=17837&name=Ex-Guantanamo+detainee+freed+in+France